It’s raining today, but last weekend the weather was perfect! I had to work on Saturday (I was one of the teachers who tested students in the oral examinations to study abroad), but on Sunday I had a chance to go hiking with a friend in the mountains north of Kyoto. First we took the Keihan train, and then we switched to the Eizan Line until Iwakura station. We were planning on hiking from Iwakura station to Kurama Onsen, but we got lost in the mountains! We ended up hiking to the top of Minogaura-dake Mountain, but we weren’t planning on it! However, it was okay because there were some really beautiful view from the top of the mountain. We then wandered through the woods until we found another trail that led to the source of the Iwakura River. We were very excited to find the source of the river. The water was pure and cold as it came out of the side of the mountain. We then walked beside the river along a very old trail. There were a couple of bridges on the trail, but they were so old the the wood had almost completely rotted away and they were falling apart. It was really scary trying to cross them, and I was worried that I would fall into the river, but luckily I didn’t fall in. Finally we found a real road. We walked into Kyoto, and then took the subway. On the way home, my friend and I stopped at Kappa Sushi. After all that hiking we need some food for energy! It was great because Kappa Sushi was having a special. All the dishes were 20% larger than usual. I ate a lot of sushi!!! Anyway, becareful hiking in the mountains north of Kyoto – it’s easy to get lost!

Raising Money for Cancer Research in Kansai

Hello everyone!

I ran five kilometres this past weekend!　　Can you believe it? I was in the Terry Fox Run in Kobe, and we were running to raise money for cancer research in the Kansai region. Terry Fox is a young Canadian who tried to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. He had lost a leg to cancer, and so he was running on only one leg. Can you believe it? He ran 42 km every day. Unfortunately, before he could finish, his cancer spread to his lungs, and he had to stop. He died a year later. It was very sad, but now every year around the world, people run to raise money for cancer reseach in his memory. I was really happy to be able to do this in Kobe. It was a great experience. There were so many people there, and a lot of them were Canadians. It was a lot of fun.

After the Terry Fox Run, my friend and I went to Nanking Matchi for lunch. We had ramen, rice noodle soup, fried chicken and the most amazing dumplings in the world!!!!!!!!!! It was a great day!

This past weekend was a long weekend in Japan, so I didn’t have to work on Monday. It was really nice to have a day off. I studied Japanese all day Monday, and then my Japanese teacher came to give me a Japanese lesson. I am studying Japanese a lot now because I am taking the Japanese Proficiency Test on December 4th, and I don’t want to fail!! I am going to be taking level 4, which is the lowest level. If I can pass level four, it means that I can have simple conversations in Japanese . . . but I wonder who I will talk with in Japanese . . .

I had a pretty good Sunday as well. I met some friends of mine from Canada on Sunday, and we all went to an Indian Restaurant for lunch. The restaurant is called “Aruna”, and it is so good!! It is in Umeda, and it is close to the EST shopping mall that is below the train tracks in Umeda. Kind of past HEP 5. Anyway, it was really great, but be sure that you don’t get your curry too spicy! My friend Ryan ordered the spicy curry. I tasted it, and it was so hot it almost ripped my head off! I had the lunch set for 850 yen, and it was excellent – nan bread, chicken curry, rice, salad and a piece of roast chicken – yum yum!

After lunch, we decided to go to Mino for a “mini-hike”. It such a beautiful day, that we really wanted to go and walk around somewhere nicer than Umeda. In Mino, we walked to the waterfall and we ate “momiji no tempura”. I had eaten it before, but it was fun to eat it again. Making tempura out of maple leaves is such a good idea. I think I will try this with Canadian maple leaves when I go back to Canada. Maybe I can become rich!

The only sad thing about our trip to Mino was that we saw a sick monkey. At first I was really happy to see him, because I love monkeys, but then my friend Kathy noticed that his arm was badly injured. It looked like he had been in a big fight or something. The poor monkey. I hope someone finds a vet to come and help him. I hope he’ll be okay.

me in a scary tunnel 

Kentucky Fried Chicken

Hello Everyone!

I went to Kentucky Friend Chicken for the first time in years and years. I think the last time I ate KFC was when I was in high school. It was really good. I was surprised! However, it was kind of greasy. I think I like sushi better.

Catch ya later!